ICT AND TOURISM

Introduction
According to Shanker, (2008) The revolution in ICTs has profound implications for
economic and social development. It has pervaded every aspect of human life whether it
is health, education, economics, governance, entertainment etc.
•The most important benefit associated with the access to the new technologies is the
increase in the supply of information. Information is shared and disseminated to larger
audience.
•Secondly, it reduces the cost of production. Knowledge is produced, transmitted,
accessed and shared at the minimum cost. With the reduction in the transactional costs,
there is also a reduction in the degree of inefficiencies and uncertainty.
•Thirdly it has overcome the constraints of distance and geography. ICTs have cut across
the geographic boundaries of the nation states. Buyers and sellers are able to share
information, specifications, production process etc across the national borders. It enables
all to know the comparative advantage in the market economy. It leads to the larger
markets and increased access to global supply chains.
•Fourthly it has led to more transparency. Networking and information sharing definitely
leads to demands for greater openness and transparency. Whether you want to know the
status of the central banks’ foreign exchange agency or the cost prize of potatoes in the
local market, ICTs empowers the individual with the information access, which is
transparent. Efforts are under way to integrate ICTs to all sectors and developmental
activity. Tourism is one such potential area. Tourism and economy are closely
interconnected. Discussion on Tourism involves the discussion on economic enterprise
also.
ICT and Economic growth
ICT is creating a new global market place, which is more competitive. With e-commerce
and e business, the market has more opportunities and possibilities than ever before. The
ability to reach a global audience, obtain instant market information and conduct
electronic business transactions has increased economic efficiency and has opened
markets for goods and services from the developing world.

E- commerce is expected to benefit economic development in several ways:

1. Through allowing local business access to global markets
2. By providing new opportunities to export a wider range of goods and services
3. By improving the internal efficiency with in the firms.

•First, e-commerce allows business to reach a global audience. In Africa, for example, the
tourism and handicrafts industries are realizing their ability to deliver their product
information directly to consumers.
Tourist lodges, hotels, and governments across the continent now maintain sophisticated
websites advertising their unique features, handling booking order, and promoting
specials to interested consumers.
Similarly, small manufacturers of traditional handicrafts are discovering how ICTs can
assist the marketing and distribution of their wares.
•Secondly opportunities created by e-commerce and its predecessor technologies is that
ICTs can create digital market places to manage supply chains and automate transaction,
increasing efficiency and opening previously closed markets to firms in developing
countries.
•Thirdly, e-commerce is improving the culture of business. There are now better intra-firm
communications, cost savings procedures, and reductions in the inventory costs leading to
better management.

Tourism industry
Tourism is currently one of the fastest gowning industries across the world. It is primarily a
service industry as it does not produce goods but renders services to various classes of
people. It is an combination of various interrelated industries and trade like food industry,
transport industry etc. It is an complicated business because it involves multiple socio-
economic activities like attracting people to a destination, transporting them, housing,
feeding and entertaining etc. In the process it brings about tremendous infrastructural
improvements and helps in the development of the region. Perhaps tourism is one such
rare industry, which earns foreign exchange without exporting national wealth. Tourism is
the main stay of economics of many countries and in India it has emerged as a single
largest net earner of foreign exchange.
Tourism, like other economic activities flourishes best when it fits into the context of
general economic policies and programmes designed to lead to the optimum growth of the
economy of a country as a whole. (Gupta and Bansal 2001).
Role of ICT in Tourism Industry
Contemporary information society has made Tourism a highly information-intensive
industry as ICT has a potential impact on tourism business. The role of ICT in tourism
industry cannot be underestimated and it is crucial driving force in the current information
driven society. It has provided new tools and enabled new distribution channels, thus
creating a new business environment. ICT tools have facilitated business transaction in the
industry by networking with trading partners, distribution of product services and
providing information to consumers across the globe. On the other hand consumers are
also using online to obtain information and plan their trip and travel. Information is the key
element in the tourism industry.
ICT pervades almost all aspects of tourism and related industry. For instance, we depend
upon it right from the scratch while identifying and developing tourisms site and
destinations itself. The use of Geospatial Information Technologies in the recent years
across the globe for varied purposes is popularly known and Tourism industry has not been
an exception in availing its advantages. It can be used by tourist professionals to define the
boundaries of the proposed tourist site as well its surrounding areas and the communities
living in it. It can also get information on roads linking to the sites and availability of other
utilities like water, power, market etc. Such technologies are also useful for site
management and monitoring. The role of ICT tools in the industry for marketing, operation,
and management of customer is widely known. Marketing techniques can be more
innovative through ICT tools.
The table below reveals the potential use of ICT tools in the industry.

Different aspects of industry Application

Site development GIS used for identification of
Tourist site and destinations
Marketing Advertisement, promotion
Operations Buying and management of
supplies and services
Customer services Management of customer
relationships through booking
travel, lodge etc
Monitoring GIS and GPS is also used for
managing and monitoring
tourist sites.
Tourist need accurate, reliable, timely and relevant information to make right the choices
Tourism industry is currently an extremely sensitive hybrid industry and incorporates
distinct features of information society. Although the core product in the industry is
physical service, which are produced and consumed in the physical world, it is dominated
and achieved though information services. The perfect integration of information and
physical services is the challenge for the contemporary tourism industry across the globe.
Hence it is largely a information product. For instance, tourism destinations are those
places the environment are assumed to be unique and different from the every day
experience. One has to travel to the place of consumption to test the product or services
and which cannot be done in advance for a trial. Since, tourism services are consumed the
very time they are produced, it is largely based social interaction between the supplier and
the consumer. The quality of the service or product is mainly defined by the interaction.
To be more elaborate, consumer has access to only an abstract model of the product at
the time of decision-making and contractual agreement. Hence decision-making and
consumption are separated in time and space. Such gaps can be overcome by the
information about the product, which is available in advance to the consumer. Thus
tourism services and product are based on confidence, information and communication.
The mechanism leads to the establishment of specific product distribution
and long information and value adding chains. (Werthner and Klein 1999).
Key factors for applying ICT in tourism
1. IT education and training for policy makers, managers and other players in the industry
2. Integration of various sectors like transport, lodge etc.
3. Technical Infrastructure
4. Human Infrastructure, which includes skilled people, vision and management.
5. Legal Infrastructure
a. Regulation of telecommunication providers
b. Subsides for Internet service providers
c. Legal framework for online advertisement or official endorsement for online marketing.
6. ICT culture
a. Create and sustain ICT environment
b. Maintenance and updation of websites
c. ICT training for all level of workers
d. Establish electronic linkages between all related sectors
Transition in the Industry
Technological progress in the recent decades has made tourisms enterprise across the
globe more innovative than even before. The three important innovations, which have
redefined the organizational structure of world truism industry, are the following.
1. Development of the Computer Reservation System (CRS)
2. Development of the Global Distribution System (GDS)
3. The Internet.
GDS refers to the network connection integrating the automated booking systems of
different organizations which enables the user to access it through the intermediation of a
travel agency. The supply of services is presently concentrated with four global suppliers
owned by airline companies namely Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo International and Worldspan.
The functioning of these companies depend upon a network of agreements with local
partners which ensures access to travel agencies all over the world.
However its non-visibility does pose constraints, as it cannot be the successfully exploited
by the end user’s market. GDS technology has also broadened the gap between large and
medium or small suppliers of tourist services as the former are more benefited. (European
e- business market Watch, 2003).
The advantages and evolution of CRS and Internet are well known. Internet strategy has
provided all players in the industry an easy access to the end user. Exploitation of
opportunities through Internet depends upon marketing strategy, communication strategy,
pricing strategy etc.
Direct communication with the clients, which is facilitated by the Internet, has made the
industry more effective and efficient. For instance, following figures demonstrates the
transformation in the industry.
Figure I presents the traditional values of chains while figure 2 represents the Internet
based value chains. They represent the changing face of tourism in recent years.
Figure
Source: Werthner and Klein (1999)
GDS: Global distribution system
CRS: Central reservation system
DMC: Destination Management Company
DMO: Destination Marketing Organization
The overall structure of the industry has been transformed ever since Internet has been
the essential communication tool for the industry.

Several new developments can be noted.

1. Direct selling to the customer has increased
2. Increase in new intermediaries such as Internet portals specialized in selling tourism
products.
3. Customers have access to the distribution channels traditionally used by tour
operators through Internet.
4. Companies can regularly alter products and services based on the needs and
expectations of clients through regular interaction through Internet.
5. Increase in the transparency and the efficient relationship between customer and
management.
6. Change in the consumer behavior. Consumers are now asking better services. They
are more specific with regard to content and the details of the arrangement. They are
more cost conscious and often tend to make comparisons between two products.
Limitations and Future Possibilities
There is a need for a well-structured Information System or Intelligent System
technologies in tourism industry to facilitate the access of tourist information by the
users. The current ICT system has certain limitations. For instance, accessing information
through Internet and www is an intelligent mean of getting the information, but many a
times, the information is highly fragmented. One shall arrive at it only after intelligent
navigation, which is time consuming and may mislead in the process. Sometimes,
presentation of information in the web is not intelligent too. Search engines for tourism
should be developed. Facilities to browse according to the topic portals can be made.
Wireless is likely to be the next major event in the history of technology. Its application in
tourism industry is also likely to increase in future. Mobile services shall continue to be an
important channel of information and tourism services distribution for both providers
and consumers. Future mobiles might decrease in size, weight ad prize and likely to
increase in power, storage, connectivity, position and capabilities. Electronic personal
guide might be in frequent usage. Besides SMS (short message services), WAP (Wireless
Application Protocol) standard for accessing the Internet with wireless devices like mobile
phones should be increased. GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), which gives the
position, and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) enabled mobiles which can handle
larger amounts of data than the GSM network shall be useful in tourism industry. W-LAN
(Wireless Local Area Networks) and Blue tooth, which gives wireless access at short
distance about few meters, can be useful too.
It is also essential that usability studies and research is conducted to examine the ICT
integration in tourism and its impact.
Usability is the measure to the quality of a user’s experience while using the ICT tools. It
could be a product of a system, website, a software application, mobile technology, or nay
related technology. It is important to note the technology and application to work
together with respect to bandwidth, user interface, position etc.
All applications, technology and services should be user-friendly, which can be used both
by the veterans as well as the new-bees effectively. Hence technology and services should
be effective, efficient and safe. It should have utility value and simple to comprehend.

Customer relations management can be improved by strategies which sustains the old
customers interest besides attracting new prospective clients. Planning of the trip should
be inclusive such that booking should take care of travel, lodge, local tours etc. It should
take care of the trip from the beginning till the end. Pre trip session, during trip session
and post trip sessions should be properly laid out and implemented. Such activities can be
better streamlined if the reservations facility can be outsourced as much as possible.
Arrangement should be made for ‘Live Chat’ so that all queries of the customer is
answered at any time.
Reviews by the customer, feed backs and surveys should be in progress to know the gaps
if any. SMS can also be used for logistic updates.
E-Tourism facilitates regional and tourism
According to Shanker (2008), Extensive and intensive Rural Tourism can be promoted
through ICT application. Rural tourism can be main economic activity and can be crucial for
agribusiness and rural development. It gives an opportunity for the farmers to profit from
tourism directly besides generating new market for the agrarian products in the region.
Activities revolving around rural tourism can be streamlined to support sustainable
development and hence, it can be user friendly and environmental friendly.
Rural e-tourism is largely individual oriented and may or mat not have a mass appeal unlike
the industrial tourism. Budget constraints are bound to exist as small farmers may lack
resources for advertise and promote their products. Rural e-tourism might bring many
ancient historical monuments, galleries, museums, theatres and sites into mainstream
tourism. While those in ruins are rescued and renovated, unknown heritages like old
castles houses, villages etc may be rediscovered. It is essential to build a user-friendly
model for rural tourism, keeping in mind the ICT tools, cultural policy, state and local
region.
Information from the local communities can be also protest and preserve cultural heritage.
The use of ICT in tourism can have significant impact on the management and development
of heritage sites. However intervention of the state and cultural policies is essential to
make ICT application meaningful. Another obstacle to the development of local cultural
heritage through ICT tools is the fact that it is the subject of initiatives targeted on the local
population. While the major players in the tourism industry have adopted ICT tools for
sales and promotion, cultural sector are yet to comprehend the potential of ICT
applications for preserving cultural heritage. They are yet to discover that heritage
preservation is possible through e-tourism. Sustainable tourism can be the tool for
preservation and development of natural and cultural heritage. ICT can open up new
prospects for cultural and tourism policies through the convergence of resources
preservation and development. A common ICT based heritage tourism development
strategy can be evolved using the points of convergence between cultural sector and
tourism industry. Such a strategy common to the culture and tourism sectors on a regional
level could be an appropriate solution to overcome major challenges associated with ICT
based heritage tourism development. It enables a delicate balance between both
accessibility to heritage and its preservation.
Tourism: From Information to Knowledge industry
The dynamics of Information exchange among the tourism industry players has
drastically changed in the recent years. The industry is now more complicated as there
has been considerable changes in the distribution and sales. Distribution cooperation is
expanding. While transport companies now provide opportunity to book
accommodation, destination management organizations are developing internet portal
to distribute information.
It is essential for the tourism professional to understand the Tourism Value Net. They
also need to know the main players in the industry. Statistical database should be
developed and research should be undertaken. Educational institutions should have
access to such knowledge. Educational institute should promote ICT based courses. It
should be supported with technical training as well as field based training and practical
experience in the industry. Educational institute specialized on Tourism education, IT
educational institutions and tourism industry players like travel agencies, tour
operators, hotels, technology providers etc should have a network and have constant
interaction in order to develop a skill base for successful tourism industry and a
successful navigation.
The industry is generating excessive information and indeed information is the strategic
and important resources for the industry. ICT tools are providing new means for
analyzing the information for the industry. Emphasis should be upon converting this
valuable information to knowledge system. There should be gradual transition from
data system to profound knowledge system for the benefit of future
generations.
References

•European e- business market Watch, Sector Report, No 13 II/July (2003).

•Gupta, S & Bansal, S.P. (2001). Tourism Towards 21st Century, Deep and Deep. New Delhi.

•Shanker, D 2008, ‘ICT and Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities’, paper presented at the
Tourism Strategy Conference, Tourism in India – challenges ahead in India 15-17 May 2008
at the Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati-781039

•Werthner, H & Klein, S. (1999). Information Technology and Tourism – A Challenging

Relationship, Springer, Wien and New York.